Migration Category: Global Old Site

Both houses of the Afghan Parliament have voted to pass an act that would prohibit relatives from testifying against a criminal defendant in a judicial proceeding. If signed by President Hamid Karzai, the proposed change to the Afghan criminal code would prevent family members from testifying as victims or witnesses in all criminal cases, including domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault cases. The act would also ban children and doctors – including those who may have examined victims – from testifying against the accused.

“It is a travesty this is happening,” said Manizha Naderi, Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women, which runs over two dozen shelters in 10 provinces of Afghanistan for women and girls who have been victims of violence. “It will make it impossible to prosecute cases of violence against women.”

Women for Afghan Women called on the United States “which has promised not to abandon the women of Afghanistan” and the larger international community “to shout out loud and clear their refusal to accept this assault on women’s rights.”

Last December, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released their annual report on violence against women in Afghanistan, finding that there was a 28 percent increase in reports of violence against women from 2012 to 2013 , but only 17 percent of those were prosecuted under the country’s Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) – a small 2 percent increase from 2012.

At the launch of the UNAMA-OHCHR report, Georgette Gagnon, Director of the Human Rights Unit at UNAMA and OHCHR representative, told reporters, “Police, prosecutors and courts, in our view, need increased resources and technical and political support and direction from the highest levels of Government to deal adequately with the increase in reporting and registration of cases of violence against women documented in this report.”

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has urged the Vatican act to address child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members and take measures to prevent it from happening in the future.

The CRC recommended that the Holy See remove all clergy who are confirmed or suspected child abusers from their positions immediately, to turn them in to authorities, and to provide the UN with an archive of evidence about the abuse – which they have so far declined to do. The CRC also urged the Vatican invite outside experts and victims to participate in an investigation of child abuse, the abuse of women in Magdalene laundries, and the way these situations were handled by church authorities. The Vatican must should also pay full compensation to victims and families, among several other recommendations.

“The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the Committee said.

In the US alone between 1950 and 2010, 6,100 priests were accused of abuse, leading to an estimated 100,000 victims, according to Barbara Blaine, President of SNAP. Globally, thousands more have been accused, and they were frequently protected from any punishment by being transferred to a different parish where they could start abusing others, as shown in recently released documents of the Chicago archdiocese.

The CRC report follows a hearing the Committee held last month for Vatican leaders to address global child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and their role in protecting perpetrators. Although these recommendations are a step forward, they are currently non-binding.

The French National Assembly Tuesday passed an abortion provision modifying a 1975 law which requires women to prove they are “in distress” to legally terminate a pregnancy. The accepted measure removes that language, and some lawmakers called it “archaic.” It also punishes people who attempt to prevent women from entering facilities where information on abortion is accessible. The bill must be put to a vote before it passes into law.

In France, abortion is legal for up to 12 weeks, after which a woman’s request must be signed off by two doctors and is only permissible if having the baby will risk her health or life, or that the baby will suffer from severe illness. Even so, France reports that as many as 220,000 women undergo the procedure each year and that 1 in 3 French women will receive an abortion in her lifetime. “Abortion is a right in itself,” said France’s women’s rights minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, “and not something that is allowed to conditions.” The state began to reimburse abortion costs last year.

The law is part of a larger gender equality bill, the most comprehensive in France’s history, which also extends paternity leave to six months, increases fines on businesses and political parties for failure to reach parity, prevents media broadcasts of demeaning or sexist imagery toward women, and bans beauty pageants for girls under 13.

The New York Times called the decision “a refreshing step forward for reproductive rights,” as well as “a welcome example of what governments can do to support equal rights and equal opportunities for women.” The National Assembly’s vote puts France in stark contrast with Spain, which is considering extremely conservative legislation that bans abortion except for cases of rape or a threat to a person’s physical or psychological health.

“This might seem merely symbolic,” said Vallaud-Belkacem, “but it’s a strong message. Women must have the right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy without having to justify themselves.”

The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) released a report on Tuesday revealing the Burmese Army’s continued, systematic rape of girls and women since the country’s 2010 elections. The Thailand-based group documented over 100 rapes in its report, Same Impunity, Same Patterns, but believes these are only a small fraction of the rapes and that there have likely been hundreds more that have not been reported.

Overall, 47 of the reported cases were gang rapes, and 28 victims died from internal injuries after the rapes. Some of the victims were as young as eight years old. Most of the cases have been clearly linked to military offensives against ethnic minority Kachin and Shan insurgents in the northeast of Burma, also known as Myanmar. And many of the perpetrators have been high-ranking officials in the Burmese military.

“These crimes are more than random, isolated acts by rogue soldiers,” WLB writes. “Their widespread and systematic nature indicates a structural pattern: rape is still used as an instrument of war and oppression . . . Sexual violence is used as a tool by the Burmese military to demoralize and destroy ethnic communities.”

WLB argues that these actions go against international treaties Burma has signed as well as it’s own penal code that punishes rapists. To create change, WLB suggests putting the military under civilian judicial control so it can be held accountable for its crimes. It is currently independently in charge of administering its affairs. The group also suggests involving more women in the nation’s peace process, signing the international Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict [PDF], and adopting laws aimed at protecting women from violence.

The first female law firm in Saudi Arabia launched last week, founded by the first Saudi female lawyer Bayan Mahmoud Al-Zahran. Saudi Arabia issued law licenses to Al-Zahran and three other female lawyers in October 2013, the first time the country issued such licenses to female law graduates.

Al-Zahran told Arab News that her law firm’s objective will be to fight for Saudi women’s rights and to get women’s cases heard in court. “I believe women lawyers can contribute a lot to the legal system,” she said. “This law firm will make a difference in the history of court cases and female disputes in the Kingdom.”

The launch of Al-Zahran’s law firm is a step forward for women in Saudi Arabia, where adult women are still required to have male guardians who make decisions on their behalf, such as the right to travel, study, work, or marry. Saudi women are required to cover themselves in public, and they are banned from driving, forced to rely on male relatives or guardians to travel anywhere.

Last October, over 60 women drove in October in an ongoing campaign to obtain the right to drive.

The owners and 11 employees of a Bangladeshi garment factory are facing charges for culpable homicide after the death of 112 workers in a fire last year.

Those charged – including owners Delwar Hossain and Mahmuda Akter, and 11 factory managers, security guards, and engineers – created dangerous conditions for the workers that contributed to their deaths. The building had no emergency fire exits, and it’s fire certificate had expired. The factory was nine stories high, even though it only had permission to be three stories, and it was located in a narrow alley where firefighters could not reach the flames.

On the day of the fire, managers and security guards locked the doors, trapping the workers inside.” The managers and security guards misguided the workers by saying that it was nothing but a part of a regular fire drill when the blaze broke out,” said Public Prosecutor Anwarul Kabir Babul. “So the workers went back to work after the fire alarm went off, but they got trapped as the managers locked the gates.”

This is the first time Bangladeshi authorities have charged factory owners in a country where several factory disasters over the past two years have injured and killed hundreds of workers. A court will decide on December 31 whether to accept the charges and allow the trial to proceed. If those charged are convicted, they could face life in prison.

Feminist Michelle Bachelet is once again the president of Chile, winning 62 percent of the vote – the largest victory for any presidential candidate since the country resumed democratic elections in 1989.

As president, Bachelet will address the profound gap between the rich and poor in Chile. The country has the highest level of income inequality among the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Bachelet also intends to establish free university education, a priority for Chilean youth who have organized massive protests against the prohibitively high cost of education there.

“Feminists worldwide applaud Michelle Bachelet’s victory and great leadership for women’s rights,” said Feminist Majority Foundation president Eleanor Smeal in reaction to the win.

Bachelet, a medical doctor by training, served as the president of Chile between 2006 and 2010. The first woman to lead the country, Bachelet reformed Chile’s pension system, developed new social welfare programs for children, and was known as a strong champion for women and girls. Constitutionally barred from seeking a consecutive second term, Bachelet went on to become the first Executive Director and Under-Secretary-General of UN Women.

India’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to reinstate a ban on gay sex. Their decision overturned a 2009 Delhi High Court decision finding that Section 377 of the penal code, the 153-year-old colonial-era law criminalizing gay relationships, was discriminatory and violated human rights.

Violating the law can be punished with up to 10 years in jail. Although the BBC reports that the law is rarely used for prosecution, it is often used by police to harass gay people. “This decision is a body-blow to people’s rights to equality, privacy and dignity,” said G. Ananthapadmanabhan of Amnesty International India in a statement.

Although various conservative groups had petitioned the two-judge Supreme Court to reinstate the ban, the decision prompted protests in cities across India and dismay from Indian leaders.

“To say in this day and age that LGBT rights should not be recognized is extremely regressive and extremely disappointing,” said Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

India’s parliament can vote to change or remove Section 377, or the government can file a curative petition to have the case reviewed quickly by a five-judge panel.

Yesterday marked International Human Rights Day, a day to celebrate human rights advances and to assess the challenges that lie ahead in protecting them.

“The fundamentals for protecting and promoting human rights are largely in place: these include a strong and growing body of international human rights law and standards, as well as institutions to interpret the laws, monitor compliance and apply them to new and emerging human rights issues,” said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a statement. “The key now is to implement those laws and standards to make enjoyment of human rights a reality on the ground.”

One of the most pressing global human rights concerns that the United States can easily help improve is women’s access to family planning services and protection from HIV/AIDS. Every minute, a young woman becomes infected with HIV/AIDS. Women need reproductive health programs to be integrated with HIV/AIDS services, and vice-versa, for improved efficiency and effectiveness in preventing AIDS infection and unplanned pregnancy and improving maternal and child health.

The United States, through PEPFAR – the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) – has made an unprecedented commitment to helping create an AIDS Free Generation. Yet, PEPFAR funds cannot be used to purchase family planning commodities, nor are family planning services provided at PEPFAR sites, meaning that women cannot access a full range of contraceptives at the same site where they receive HIV/AIDS testing, counseling, or treatment. Moreover, continued U.S.-funding preferences for abstinence-based programs undermine comprehensive HIV-prevention services, including the provision of condoms.

TAKE ACTION: Urge decision makers to integrate comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare services with HIV/AIDS treatment for women globally.

LEARN MORE: Read our week-long blog series about human rights.

Research completed by the Guttmacher Institute and released this week exposes the considerable financial toll taken on Ugandan women and their families when they pursue unsafe abortions. “Documenting the Individual and Household-Level Cost of Unsafe Abortion in Uganda” [PDF], by Aparna Sundaram of the Guttmacher Institute et al, uses data collected between 2011 and 2012 from more than 1,300 women to gain insight into how the costs of both unsafe abortion and post-abortion care impact women’s finances and the well-being of their families.

Uganda’s abortion rate is one of the highest in the world. In 2003, 54 of every 1,000 women in Uganda had had an induced abortion between the ages of 15 and 49. Confusing and restrictive laws lead many women to pursue dangerous and unsafe abortions, and in 2003 85,000 women in Uganda were treated for complications from their abortions in local hospitals. On average, Ugandan women in the study paid 59,600 shillings for their abortions (equivalent to $23), but post-abortion care increased that average cost to 128,000 shillings on average (or $49). These costs are significant for women in Uganda, where per capita income in 2011 was $510 and 38% of the population lived on $1.25 per day in 2009. 73% of the women in the study reported that they had lost wages due to treatment, 60% reported that their children had less to eat and/or were unable to attend school after their treatment, and 34% reported that they experienced a decline in economic stability after their care was complete.

“These findings make clear that more must be done to reduce unintended pregnancy by ensuring Ugandan women have access to family planning services,” said Moses Mulumba, executive director of the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development. “Accurate information on contraception and high-quality services must be made available as a matter of constitutionally guaranteed rights to allow women to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. Young and poor women in particular need access to these services.”

The Guttmacher report recommends increased family planning services and contraceptive access in Uganda. 34% of married women and 35% of sexual active unmarried women in Uganda experience an unmet need for contraception. A recent Ms. magazine report on PEPFAR funding in the region found that abstinence-only policies in the country lead to frequent condom stockouts. The Uganda Ministry of Health has stated that condom availability over the past five years doesn’t meet the needs or demands of the population. A lack of available family planning resources is directly responsible for both the high rate of unsafe abortions in Uganda as well as rising HIV/AIDS infections.

A pregnant Italian woman who was visiting England for a work training course had her baby forcibly removed and taken into the custody of social services.

While in a psychiatric facility in Essex, a court declared her incompetent, so doctors sedated her and performed a caesarean section on her against her will. When she woke up, doctors told her they had removed her child and taken it into custody. Prior to the operation, the woman reportedly suffered a panic attack when she could not find her daughters’ passports, and she called the police. They took her to the psychiatric facility, where she was held under Britain’s Mental Health Act for five weeks.

Essex social services refuses to return the now 15-month-old girl to her mother and plans to put her up for adoption. The mother is currently fighting to have the court’s ruling overturned before the adoption process is completed. A judge formed a favorable opinion of her, but he ruled to put the child up for adoption anyway because of the risk that the woman may suffer a relapse.

This case has been called “unprecedented” by the woman’s attorneys. “I worry about the way these decisions about a person’s mental capacity are being taken without any apparent concern as to the effect on the individual being affected,” said Member of Parliament John Hemming, according to The Telegraph.

Yesterday marked the 25th annual World AIDS Day, an opportunity for people around the world to unite in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“We remember the friends and loved ones we have lost, stand with the estimated 35 million people living with HIV/AIDS, and renew our commitment to preventing the spread of this virus at home and abroad,” said US President Barack Obama in a statement. “If we channel our energy and compassion into science-based results, an AIDS-free generation is within our reach.”

As a direct result of increased availability of HIV testing, counseling, and treatment, new HIV infections around the world dropped 33 percent between 2001 and 2012, and AIDS-related deaths have dropped 30 percent since 2005. Current treatment can reduce infectiousness by 96 percent, and great progress has been made to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, with “more than 850,000 new childhood infections averted between 2005 and 2012 in low- and middle-income countries,” according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Despite significant progress in fighting HIV worldwide, there are still 35 million people living with HIV, and over half of those are women. It is the leading cause of death for women of reproductive age worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, where 69 percent of all people with HIV live, women are over half of the epidemic with women ages 15-24 as much as 8 times more likely than men to be HIV positive.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged an end to discrimination and violence against women, which can increase risk of HIV infection and death from AIDS, and a focus on increasing access to treatment for pregnant women and children. “To create conditions for an AIDS-free generation, we must also step up efforts to stop new HIV infections among children and ensure access to treatment for all mothers living with HIV,” he said.

Today marks the fourteenth annual United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a part of the United Nations Secretary General’s Campaign to End Violence Against Women (UNiTE). Through these campaigns, the UN seeks to raise awareness of the epidemic levels of violence against women and to increase political will and resources for preventing and ending all forms of violence against women and girls around the world.

Globally, 70 percent of women experience violence in their lifetime. In the United States alone, more than one million women are raped every year, though that number may be higher due to low reporting levels. The World Bank estimates that women between the ages of 15 and 44 are more at risk of injury or death from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war, and malaria.

“This International Day to End Violence against Women is an opportunity for all people to recommit to preventing and halting all forms of violence against women and girls,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. “I welcome the chorus of voices calling for an end to the violence that affects an estimated one in three women in her lifetime.”